Team Naruto- Different Beginnings
by AnnarchyLives
Summary: Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto decides to follow in her father's footsteps and take on a team. The Fourth Shinobi War is over, and all seems calm, but despite this, mayhem and chaos seem to follow the trio of Genin she takes on. Follow Team Naruto's misadventures as they find themselves, and maybe even a little romance along the way!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay. So I've actually been wanting to write this kind of fic for a long time. Like a year or so. This will be a Older!Fem!Naruto (aka Naruko) and Minato and Kushina have their 2nd child on the day that Madara attacks. Most everything will be canon, however! There will be changes to the original story and timeline. These will be explained in the next chapter, and this chapter is me telling you where I plan on going with this and technically it's the _actual_ beginning of my story. I'm going to try and keep this fic as realistic as possible but since I'm only just getting back into the swing of writing for my other fics as well, updates will be sporadic and slow. but I shall hinder no further, you already read the summary. Enjoy!**

 _Post Fourth Shinobi War, Kushina POV_

"Naruto, are you absolutely sure that you want to do this? I can tell you from experience that it is not easy." I looked at my eldest, concern for her heavy in my chest. I knew that she was 22 already, but she was talking about doing something I never could have imagined her doing.

"I know it won't be easy, Mama. But since when has something not being easy ever stopped me? Never, I tell you!" She was wearing her typical Jonin outfit: long sleeve black top with the sleeves rolled up to a 3/4 sleeve, black gloves with knuckle guards and the shinobi kanji for "spirit" on the left guard and "fire" on the right, her knee length apron skirt with black shorts going to mid-thigh showing underneath, her weapons holster strapped securely to her right thigh, and her ankle combat sandals.

Looking at her I could see her own father shining through her, with only a hint of myself. Not many knew how exuberant he could really be when he wasn't on a mission or he truly got excited about something. I always thanked Kami for that. That I got to see him every day of my life just by looking at the beautiful lifes we created. Her and Menma both, even though the boy took more after me with his red hair and fairer shade of skin. Its hard to believe that even he is 17 now.

"Yes, my little kit, I know that it's never stopped you. But taking on a Genin team is hard. You have to lead them and show them right from wrong. You have to be able to protect them- don't you dare interrupt me young lady!- and you need to have a level head. Dealing with 12 and 13 year old children is more than enough to test what patience you have and max out even _our_ stamina."

I watched my only daughter as her toothy grin died down to a small smile. One that looks just like her fathers mellow one, and I felt my heart skip a beat. This was her smile that she reserved only for family and her closest friends. The ones she allowed to see her for who she truly was, and not just the sunny disposition that she put up as a front. She quietly placed her right hand in a fist over her heart before looking at me with those eyes that threw everyone off, one violet like mine, the other azure blue like her fathers.

"I want to follow in Papa's footsteps and if I get to teach the next generation of Shinobi all the wisdom of those who have taught me? Even better. If I want to become Hokage one day, and have a whole village look to me for guidance and support, then where better to start than teaching my own students? I've wanted a team of my own for years. I want to build and nurture the bonds of comrades with my own hands. I want my team to know what it's like to look not only ahead of them to see what their future can be, but to look to their left and right and see their futures with their precious people. This team will mean the world to me and I can only hope that I can become as great as Papa was to Kakashi-baka to my own students. Does that make any sense Mama?"

I could see the hope alight in her eyes, and I crumbled. The girl always did know just how to bring me to tears, "Oh! My little kit is all grown up! Waaaah, come give me a hug and kiss! That doesn't mean try and run! Get over here kit! Dammit Naruto! Let me love you!"

* * *

 _Aiko POV 13 Years old_

I was finally a Genin. And today we got to meet our sensei! I was on a team with Inuzuka Mamoru and Nakayama Tadashi. Mamoru was a loud boy with short, wild brown hair and the typical slited eyes of the Inuzuka. He had the typical red triangles adorning his cheeks and carried around what appeared to be a pure black wolf pup. He often wore a plain brown wide collared shirt underneath a long black overcoat with regular black Shinobi pants and sandals. Tadashi, however, wasn't quite the opposite, but more often than not he tended to be quiet and reserved. He had short orange hair and dark brown, almost black, eyes, but from the few times I had talked to him, he seemed very kind. Gentle even. Not at all the type of person who you would think would like to become a Shinobi. He often wore a plain red shirt that had obviously seen better days, and slightly-too-baggy-for-him black pants with well worn Shinobi sandals. The almost humorous thing about Tadashi, though, was how quickly his temperament changed when someone teased him. The boy could go from completely docile to straight rampage within seconds!

"Listen up class! Today, you will be meeting your Jonin sensei's. The information I am about to go over, you guys should already know, however, I will go over it again just for those of you who may have forgotten already. Teams 1, 10 and 4 through 7 are still in rotation at the moment so you will be Teams 2, 3, 8, and 9. I will announce your teammates and when I am done with that I will bring the four Jonin sensei's in and they will call for their team. Everybody clear?"

"Yes Iruka-sensei!" the class answered back.

"Very well. Team 2 is..." The excitement was killing me! Who would my sensei be?! I could feel the nervous ball of energy turning uncomfortably in my stomach, "Team 9 is Hara Aiko, Inuzuka Mamoru, and Nakayama Tadashi."

"Yo! Iruka-sensei! How goes the academy life these days?" All of a sudden the door burst open and a woman came bounding into the classroom. She had lengthy, wild blonde hair that was secured tightly into a high ponytail, with only her bangs swept over her left eye and two long strands hanging down on each side to frame her face. Her eyes were closed tightly due to the huge grin she wore. She was also wearing a Jonin vest, a long black shirt underneath and an orange skirt.

"Dammit Naruto! I told you to wait outside with the others until I called!" Iruka-sensei scolded the new arrival, pinching the bridge of his scarred nose between his fingers.

"Whoops. Well I'll go wait then..."

Iruka-sensei let out a billowing sigh before giving in to the woman, "No, no, there's no point now. Just go get the others. And don't get Lee too hyped up! That's the last thing I need right now..."

"You betcha!" The blonde, Naruto, promptly turned on her heal and cupped her mouth, "Hey guys, it's okay to come in now!"

The door to the classroom slid open with a _swiiisht_ and in came three more Shinobi dressed in the Jonin uniform, "What a drag. Why are you always such a troublesome woman Naruto?"

"Naruto-hime! Your flames of youth burn as bright as always!"

"Naruto, how do you always manage to stir up trouble? I need some pointers dammit!" "Woof Woof!"

"Will you all just shut the hell up and stand at the front! Dealing with you brats back when you were in my class was bad enough!"

The four Jonin ultimately wound up at the front of the classroom, all standing shoulder to shoulder, looking out into my class. I couldn't help but stare at Naruto-san. She was beautiful, but more than that, I had heard of her power too. She was one of the most lethal Kunoichi to have ever been recorded and she is said to have carried most of the Fourth War to boot!

 _Man, oh man, I really really hope that she's my Jonin sensei! So cool!_

"Alright. So now that the Jonin have lined up and _settled down_..." the last part was a growl, "I will let them introduce themselves and announce whose team they will be taking on."

"I vote Shikamaru goes first!" Naruto-san called out.

"What a drag. Fine. My name is Nara Shikamaru. I'm a Jonin and I am 17 years old. I was on Team 8 as my generations Ino-Shika-Cho formation. I'll be taking Team 2."

I breathed a sigh of relief. As sure as I am that Shikamaru-san would be a good sensei, I can also tell that I just wouldn't be able to live up to my dreams quite the way that I want to if I were on his team.

"Guess I'll go next. I'm Inuzuka Kiba, and this is my partner Akamaru. I am 17 years old and I will be the sensei of Team 8, which also happens to be the same team that I was on back in the day!" "Woof, woof!"

Again I couldn't help but be relieved. But then the Jonin wearing the green spandex suit and tacky orange leg warmers spoke up, "Team 3! Fear not, for it is I: Lee-sensei! I will ensure to push you so that your flames of youth will burn brighter than ever before!" When Lee-san was finished introducing himself (read: deafening everyone), it was finally Naruto-san's turn.

I watched with giddiness as Naruto-san looked out into the crowd of faces, a small smile adorning her face and the look in her eyes gentle, "Hello. My name is Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, and I will be the sensei for Team 9. I am 22 years old, and have been a Jonin since before the War. I look forward to working with you all and I sincerely hope that I can lead you in the direction that you hope to go."

I have stars in my eyes. I just know it!

"YYYESS!" I shouted, popping up out of my seat with my fist in the air.

The girl next to me, Hikari, looked up at me with an irritated look in her eye, "Why are you even yelling like that? You're just embarrassing yourself."

Looking around, I realized that everyone was staring at me, and I could feel a slight blush on my cheeks, but one stare caught my attention. Naruto-sensei. She looked at me with pride, and some other emotion that I can't place. It was like she was encouraging my excitement, and even joined in it herself. I could feel my grin grow once more, and my excitement bubble up from my belly once more.

"Because I got the best sensei of them all! Of course I'm gonna celebrate!" and I stuck my tongue out at her before laughing out loud. All the sensei's chuckled alongside me, as well as some of the students.

"Alright Team 9! For our first team meeting, meet me on the roof in 10 minutes." Naruto-sensei called out to us.

"Yes sensei." All three of us replied to her with no hesitation. She simply winked before she sunshined out of the room.

* * *

 _Naruto POV_

I was dying of nerves inside. My own team! _Alright_ _, Naruto. Now is NOT the time to be having second thoughts! Just because D rank missions suck ass doesn't mean that having a team will be all that bad! You'll get to watch them grow and learn. You'll be the one teaching them! Yeah. Yeah, think of that. That helps._

 _***Flashback***_

" _Naruto," I was playing in the living room, my best friend Itachi a few feet away, and Shisui lazing on the couch. We had been always been inseparable and we were looking over all the things that we would be studying in the Academy together. My Papa was hesitant about me going to the Academy so early, 'especially at times like these' he always said, but Mama was determined that Itachi and I stay together. 'They're gonna be so cute when they grow up!' she would always yell, hearts in her eyes, but Papa would always glare at Itachi if he was there, or simply pick me up and hold me close and say 'The only man my little Naru needs in her life is me. Isn't that right my little angel?' I was always so confused when he would ask that, which irked me because I hated not knowing. 'Yeah! I love my Papa! He's the coolest!' I would always reply. Mama would pout, but it made Papa happy again, so I was happy._

 _"Right here Papa!" I called back out to him. Just then Papa walked into the room and noticed the other two._

 _"Shisui, you know that you're actually supposed to be supervising them, right?" Papa asked the elder Uchiha._

 _"Yes Minato-sama. They haven't really done anything but look over Academy information and what they will be studying though. Unless you mean..." The boy let out a nervous chuckle and looked between his little cousin and me._

 _"Yes. So has the day been quiet?" Papa asked._

 _"Papa, he already told you that!" I yelled, walking up to him and craning my neck so that I could see him, then lifting my arms up in a silent demand to be held, which I knew would never be denied. I love my Papa._

 _He picked me up as expected and I gave him a loud kiss on the cheek and wrapped my arms around his neck. I missed him so much._

 _"Alright, Naru, I'll let him off the hook for now. But only as long as you never let anyone take you from your Papa."_

 _"I'll kick their butts Papa!" I said with a wide grin._

 _"Promise?" He asked me._

 _"I promise Papa. Can we have ramen tonight Papa? Mama said we could if you said yes. I really really want some! Please?" I begged with a pout._

 _"Say goodbye to your friends first and I'll think about it, okay?" He said while putting me back down._

 _I gave Itachi and Shisui quick hugs goodbye before skipping after Papa into his bedroom where I hopped on the bed and watched him take off his hitai-ate._

 _"I wanted to talk to you about something before you started the Academy tomorrow, Naruto. You know I have my own team right?"_

 _"Yup! Rin-Onesan, Obito-Aniki, and Kakashi-Baka!" I had known them for as long as I could remember. Some of my first memories were of Onesan and Aniki holding me and playing with me, but I always called Kakashi-Baka a Baka because he was always talking about 'rules' this and insulting Aniki all of the time._

 _"That's right my little Naru. They were all Academy students once, but most importantly, I always tell them what I tell you. What does Papa like to say about comrades, Naruto?"_

 _"You always say that comrades are the_ most _important!" I reply dutifully. Papa gives me one of his biggest grins, the one that only me and Mama ever get to see._

 _"That's right, and I want you to remember that the kids that you are about to go to school with will one day be your comrades, and that it is very important to make your own judgements about them. Don't let other people's opinions of them sway your own. It is very important to get to know the ones who will one day fight by your side."_

 _"Like how Onesan tries her hardest to be kind to others when she can, even Kakashi-baka?"_

 _"Just like that, Naru." I grinned at him as he picked me up and carried me towards the door, "Now, since you're so smart, why don't we go pick up some ramen so that we can eat with Mama once she comes home tonight?"_

 _"Yay!" I squealed out, my arms wrapped around my Papa, with the sure knowledge that he would always be there to guide me. And buy me and Mama ramen, of course._

 _***Flashback End***_

I chuckled a bit before glancing at the door from which my new little Genin would be coming from. They should only be a moment or two more...

As if summoned by thought alone, the door to the roof swung wide open, revealing two boys and the girl that had jumped out of her seat earlier.

"I told you she was waiting for us already! Now hurry up you two. No dawdling. I refuse to keep my new sensei waiting for us." The girl commanded the two boys. I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped me. It reminded me of Sakura, from Itachi's younger brothers Genin team. The team that basically adopted me after the tragedies with my own team...

"Good morning Naruto-sensei." The quiet drawl of one of the boys pulled me from any memories that I had almost fallen into.

"Good morning, Team 9. As you all know, I am Naruto. Now, we'll be doing introductions. This is more for me so that I can get to know my cute little Genin better. Do any of you want to go first?" I asked, looking more expectantly towards the girl, as she was the one showing the most enthusiasm.

"Well why don't you go first so that we can see how you want things done?"

 _"Maah, Maah, well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have a few likes, a lot of dislikes... My hobbies, you don't need to know... My dreams? Haven't really thought about those."_

I couldn't help the laugh that erupted from me at that moment. Geez, is it just me or is history repeating itself here? These three remind me so much of Menma's team that it's almost too much to keep in.

"Alright then. All I want is your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and maybe some dreams you have for the future. Like so: my name is Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto; I like training, my family, and ramen; I dislike traitors, those who hurt my precious people, and the hospital; some of my hobbies include training with my younger brother, cooking with my mother, and teasing the Hokage; as for my dreams? Well, everyone knows that I want to surpass my father, and become the greatest Hokage, but between you three and me? My most precious and important dream, is to have my own family to love and take care of."

I smiled down at my team, some of my previous jitters gone. These three would be different.

"Ooh, ooh! Lemme go!" the (obviously) Inuzuka boy called out next, hands waving wildly in the air.

I smiled at him and nodded, "Go on."

"I'm Inuzuka Mamoru and this is my wolf partner Kaname! She's pretty awesome, just like me. Anyways, I like Kaname, my clan, and pulling pranks, I dislike when people underestimate me or treat Kaname badly. Hobbies include training- we have that in common sensei!- and coming up with new prank ideas. I don't really have any dreams right now though. I just know I want to be a strong Shinobi!"

"That was very good Mamoru-kun. It's very nice to meet you and Kaname."

"I suppose I should go, as I'm the only one who hasn't made a ruckus yet."

I looked to the far right where the other boy was sitting quietly, waiting for his turn, and taking his time observing. I nodded to him.

"My name is Nakayama Tadashi. I like riceballs with salmon, and reading at the Library. I dislike being made fun of because of my clothes or my hair. My hobbies include gardening and running, and my dream is to one day be able to live in a real home with a family all my own, instead of living at the orphanage."

I couldn't stop the sad smile that crossed my face; after all, I could feel my own heart breaking for this boy.

"I completely understand. While I was not an orphan myself, one of my old teammates were. I had to struggle through my childhood with only one parent who was often away on missions, leaving me with my little brother fairly often. I admire you for making it this far, Tadashi."

The young boy with vibrant orange hair looked up at me and all I could see in his dark gaze was gratitude. For what exactly, I couldn't say, but it was there.

"I suppose I can go next now! My name is Hara Aiko. I like the stars and eating all types of fruit, but cherries are my favorite, I dislike anything having to do with spiders or laziness, some of my hobbies are reading, writing, and telling stories, and my dream is to become as strong as my ultimate hero and fight by their side one day!" the young girl exclaimed. I liked her very much already, but I noticed out of the corner of my eyes how the two boys rolled their eyes. I wanted to know what that was about, but before I could, I checked the position of the sun and realized it was getting a bit late.

"Alright!" I yelled, startling the younger three and clapping my hands together, "it's time to get down to business. Now, I know that the three of you have passed the graduation test, however, there is one more test that you must take which will be administered by yours truly. This test will determine whether you become my official team or whether you go back to the academy. This test is very important and I urge you all to take it seriously."

"Naruto-sensei, what do you mean 'go back to the academy'? We've already graduated." Aiko asked while raising her hand.

"I mean exactly what I said. Should you three fail my test, you will be sent back to the academy and will have to repeat your last year and graduate again."

"WHAT?!" Mamoru yelled. He had a look of shock and horror plastered to his face and it made me want to laugh because of how much it reminded me of my own reaction to this news back when I graduated the academy, "But sensei, why would they give us all this hope and let us graduate if it's just going to be snatched away from us anyways?" the boy continued.

"Now listen, and listen well. This will hopefully only be the first lesson I teach you three and you better take it to heart." I said, my voice quiet and deadly serious. I could already tell that I wanted to take this team on, but I could not allow for such thoughts to run rampant in their heads already.

Mamoru, Tadashi, and Aiko all looked to me, and I made sure that I had their undivided attention before continuing, "Just because it seems like your hope will be lost does not mean you should give up before even trying. You should _never_ give up, period. Failure is never something you should fear during training, because failure is simply a stepping stone to lasting success. When it seems like the world is against you, and that hope is hopeless, _that_ is when you must fight the hardest. Always fight for your dreams, and I swear to you that even if nothing goes as you planned, you'll turn out better for it in the end," I smirked, repeating the words that my brother once uttered to Sakura, " _that's the promise of a lifetime._ "

Aiko raised her hand, "Sensei... I've had a question that I've been wanting to ask you for a long time, but if this might be the only opportunity I have to ask, then..."

I walked forward, kneeling before the young girl that reminded me so much of both myself and my brothers teammate that it was almost silly, "Aiko, you can always ask me anything you want to know. Even if by some wild chance you three don't become my team, and I really do want you three to be my students, then you can always seek me out and ask me. I will always be there for you." I smiled at her and patted the top of her head.

She sent me a shy smile, "Well I was wondering... if you have ever considered taking on an apprentice. I have always wanted to learn from you and I am really excited that you're my sensei."

I blinked for a moment, "Apprentice eh? Well, I never really thought much about that, mostly focusing on getting a team, but I think having an apprentice would be a really great idea, especially if my only candidate shows a lot of potential," I grinned at the girl with a wink, "however, if you intend to become my apprentice, I must tell you that because I am not willing to play favorites, that it won't be official until you become Chunin. You're teammates deserve my attention and time just as much as yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes sensei." She replied, a small relieved smile on her face.

"Good. Now, all three of you will meet me in training field 13 tomorrow at 0800 hours. No later. Also, I recommend that you either eat very light breakfast, or just wait to eat altogether. Do that, and I promise to take you three to my favorite restaurant after for lunch. Okay?"

"Yes sensei." the three little Genin dutifully replied.

"Good. You are all dismissed." I said before hopping off the academy and taking to the roofs to get to the Hokage's office quicker

* * *

 _Third Person POV_

Kakashi was _supposed_ to be a busy man, however the sight that Naruto came upon while sliding open the window to his office was one she had become rather familiar with.

Lady Tsunade was sitting across the man and was obviously frustrated. Kakashi himself was kicked back in his chair, face stuffed into his Icha Icha book, and making a point to ignore Tsunade's building anger and high pitched words.

"Kakashi-baka, why are you ignoring your duties?" Naruto sighed as she came in through the window.

"Naruto! Tell him he needs to stop perving and _get the damn paperwork done_!" Tsunade yelled at the poor girl who was unfortunate enough to show up during one of her famous fits.

"Maah, maah, why do you always yell at me? What have I ever done?" Kakashi replied offhandedly with what was supposed to be an innocent tone.

"Because if I had to suffer, so do you! No one is going to do your damn job for you Kakashi!" Tsunade pointed out vehemently, "Naruto! If you don't get him to do his paperwork, then I'll make sure that a miscellaneous order is found in the archives with my signature on it that prohibits the sale of ramen in the village." she continued.

Naruto looked horrified, before looking over to her oldest friend and realizing that he was still reading as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Before Kakashi could even realize it, there was an enraged blonde with a creepy smile on her face, and hair having come out of it's band, waving around just like her mothers did when she was angry, grabbing him by the front of his robes and pulling his face up to hers so that he could feel her breath wash across his face. This didn't really help his man downstairs remain calm, however the look in her eye that promised pain and misery should he not heed her next words did.

"Kakashi-baka~" she said in a low, sing-songy growl, "If you don't finish this paperwork in the next hour, and I lose my ramen, I can promise you that you _will_ feel my wrath, and I will make sure my mother knows the reason for the lack of ramen too..."

Kakashi gulped.

There were few things that brought fear into his heart, but an enraged duo of Uzumaki women was at the top of said list, "Y-yes hime!"

"Good," she said as she dumped him back down into his chair, "and since you agreed so kindly to my arrangement, I've decided to finally let you in on a little secret to help you along your way." Naruto said, a familiar twinkle in her eye.

Kakashi and Tsunade, though knowing the danger of that twinkle in the Jonin's eye, both just had to know what on Kami's green Earth could possibly help with paperwork, "What?"

"Kage Bunshin."

At her simple reply, both of the Kage's blinked. Blinked again.

"Why the hell..." Kakashi began.

"Did I never think of that?" Tsunade finished.

Naruto simply laughed, the look on the two's faces absolutely priceless in her book, before slipping back out of the window from whence she had come, but not before tossing back behind her, "I'll be back in one hour Kakashi-baka. It'd better be done."

* * *

Sitting in his favorite tree on training ground 3, there was a young man who was clearly deep in thought, and honestly wasn't paying much attention to the world around him.

Menma was having a weird day.

First, his older sister, who he adored and idolized to no end, was taking on students of her own, which was weird. Second, Sakura was acting really strange.

Ever since Menma had brought his best friend, and her childhood love, Sasuke, back to the village, with his friends help of course, she had been doing everything in her power to be around him as much as possible. Which was weird.

Menma wasn't like his sister. He was no prodigy. At least, not with book smarts or strategy the way she was. No, he was more of a ninjutsu person, while she specialized in stealth and intelligence gathering. He was a frontline fighter, she was the preemptive strike. They were both very much like their parents, but he was more like their mother, right down to the love of pranking and his straight red hair. His eyes were his fathers though, and he was told that if not for his hair, that it could be possible that the Yondaime had simply chewed him up and spit him out.

His sister, Naruto, however, looked like their mother, except with dad's hair and one blue eye, the other a deep violet like their mother's. Their mother and those closest to the family all agreed that she acted more like Minato though, with her relatively calm demeanor, strategists mind, and inclination towards fuiinjutsu. Menma was also good at fuiinjutsu, but Naruto was well on her way to becoming a master.

Back to his original line of thinking. Sakura was being weird, and he didn't know how to think of it. He could still clearly remember when Sakura and himself had been sent to an alternate dimension by Madara, where his father had actually been alive. Where both of Sakura's parents were gone. The worst part? He was a single child. The most awkward part? Having to answer to his sister's name. Also, it had been strange that the docile, and sweet Hinata, who was dating Kiba in this world, had been dating him! And she was determined to get Sakura, the girl he had had an unrequited love for since he could remember, as far away from him as possible. They had learned some lessons, and managed to get out of it relatively okay.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the leaves as someone approached the young redhead.

"Hey there Kit. What are you doing looking so deep in thought like that? That's usually Naru's territory." his mother said to him, a wide smile splitting her face as she pinched his whiskered cheeks.

"Mooooom!" Menma called out, lightly attempting to knock his mothers hand away with no real results.

"C'mon kit! You can tell your Mama anything right? Oh, whatever happened to my sweet little boy that used to let me carry him everywhere, huh? Why couldn't you stay my little baby, Menma?" Kushina playfully pouted.

"Because that's just stupid. Why would I want to stay a little brat all the time anyways? I still don't get why Onesan wants her own team." Menma huffed. Its not like she didn't already basically have one with his own team. She had led them most of the time with Kakashi-sensei as his second in charge, since she had been a Chunin, and soon Jonin, when she started aiding his team.

Kushina simply laughed, "You know, Menma, Naru isn't going to just leave you in the dust. She loves and cares about you, but you are an adult now. And she wants that team so bad because she wants to follow in your father's footsteps. You know this. Now, I know that that isn't what's actually bothering you. So what's on my little boys mind, huh?"

Menma looked at his mother for long moments before finally sighing, "It's Sakura-chan. I don't know why but she's been acting weird lately. Not in a bad way really, but just out of character? Yet not. It's giving me a headache!" Menma reached up, ruffling both his hands rather undignifiedly through his hair, "I just don't understand!"

Kushina wanted so bad to laugh. She really did, but somehow managed to keep herself together, so as not to embarrass her son, "Well how do you mean? Give me some examples and I'm sure that I can help you understand."

"Well, she's just been trying to hang out with me or go with me everywhere whenever she's off at the hospital, and from what Sasuke-teme tells me, she doesn't really interact with him or talk to him at all when I'm not there, but from what I see when I am there, it's just like we're regular team 7! We joke and eat and all that just like normal teams do, but when we separate she always goes with me, and not Sasuke-teme. You know? The singlular guy that she professed her love for for years since we were children?" Menma finished hotly. He just couldn't help the hot curl of frustration with that last sentence. He had always loved Sakura, but Sakura had loved Sasuke. Sasuke had loved the thought of revenge. It pissed him off.

"Well, it certainly sounds to me like Sakura moved past those feelings for Sasuke-kun, and is trying to show you that she wants something with you."

Menma looked at his mother like she had lost her damn mind, "But if that were even true, then why wouldn't she just _say_ so? I'm not a Yamanaka. I'm no mind reader, dammit!"

At this point, Kushina did laugh. Her children had some of the strangest quirks, from Naru's obsession with ramen, much like her own, and all things that defy tradition, to Menma's resolute denseness and inclination towards pranks. This was one of those moments of Menma's where his dense mindset got the best of him, and he just could not for the life of him recognize that the girl who he thought would only ever consider him a friend, wanted him to ask her out on a date. Or maybe just kiss her. It was just too funny, because it reminded her so much of his father that it was ridiculous.

"Menma, she was trying to be subtle, while being obvious enough to get even _your_ attention. Which it appears she did, but I'm pretty sure that this is backfiring in her face pretty badly."

"Backfiring in her face? Will she be okay? Should I get Tsunade-baachan to take a look at her?" He quickly switched from frustration to concern.

Kushina damn near fell out of the tree, laughing, "No, Menma! Just.. just go ask Sakura-chan out on a date, and I promise you that she will tell you yes this time." Kushina finally managed to get out.

Menma simply looked at his mother doubtfully, but got up anyways to go do exactly that, "Fine, but if she rejects me, you owe me some dango, mom."

Kushina simply smiled as she watched her son jump off to go ask the love of his life out on a date.


	2. Bell Test

_Team Naruto: Bell Test_

"Where is Naruto-sensei? She told us to be here at 0800. Well it's 0805 and she isn't here!" Mamoru yelled out indignantly.

"Mamoru-kun, I doubt that Sensei is late because she wants to be..." Aiko replied to her teammate quietly. She was honestly worried by this small turn of events. From what she had learned from some others, it was very unlike their sensei to be late, going so far as to say that she was always early.

"There's no need to be such a nuisance, baka. Naruto-sensei has been here for quite a while." Tadashi broke in with his usual cool demeanor.

Just as he finished his words, a yellow flash streaked into the clearing that the three Genin were waiting. When a glove covered hand landed on top of Mamoru's head, the Inuzuka let out an undignified squeak while jumping away from the foreign limb.

Naruto, for all she was worth, didn't laugh out loud, but wasn't quite good enough to hide the mirth dancing in her mis-matched eyes, "That is right, my cute little Genin. I was waiting in the tree line so that I could observe your patience from a distance. That being said," She looked at the child with wild orange locks with a shrewd gaze, "Tadashi. You seem to have acute sensory skills already. Has anyone taught it to you, or is it simply natural for you?"

Tadashi, for all he was often able to quell his features from showing his thoughts and emotions, blushed a light pink at the attention of his sensei, "It just comes naturally to me Naruto-sensei. When I was four I could sense other's chakra signatures and after asking one of the Anbu about how funny his mask was when he was in civilian attire they figured it out and Hokage-sama decided to put me in the academy when I came of age."

"That was you?" Naruto asked after laughing for a moment, "Kami, I remember when poor Humari told me about that! He ended up having to pass on his mask to someone else and take up the mask of one of the Anbu retiree's because of that. Kakashi-baka teased him about it for a month straight!" Naruto kept chortling.

Aiko couldn't help the frown that came upon her face, "Why would that be necessary sensei? Tadashi was just a child..."

"Because, Aiko-chan, being Anbu requires absolute secrecy. Anbu is the black-ops of the Shinobi. The job is highly demanding and no one besides those authorized are to ever know the face under the mask. Even one child knowing who is under the mask can completely jeopardize the safety of any mission that Shinobi goes on."

"I understand sensei."

* * *

 _Tadashi POV_

This test was nothing like what I was expecting.

 _"This test is something called 'The Bell Test'. This test allows me to see what skills you have and what to concentrate on improving. There is also a secret category on which I will be judging you three. This category is what will determine whether you stay with me, or rejoin some of your fellow students at the academy. Now, the premise for this test is as follows: I have attached at my hip two bells. If you can get one of these bells, you pass the exercise, and if you do not get one, you fail. You will have to attack me with an intent to kill if you wish to get a hold of one of these bells. Do you understand?"_

Immediately after, sensei had told us to disperse. I had watched Aiko hide in a rocky outcropping to the north, while Mamoru took to the treeline, much like myself.

Watching Naruto-sensei from a distance, I could easily tell that while she looked at ease with a small brown book, assumedly on Fuiinjutsu since I had seen her reading almost the same book at a ramen stand on my way home the day before, I could barely discern the tenseness in her stance. The way she cocked her head just barely to the side to listen to the world around her, the slight tightening in her shoulders when a tree shifted in a way that drew attention.

This was all not to mention that something seemed off about the test. She had given them a two hour time limit. And all three knew it would be impossible to get past her defenses together, even with the intent to kill, much less on their-

My eyes widened. That's it. We _couldn't_ do it alone. It was quite literally impossible. There were few Jonin in the Elemental Nations capable of forcibly taking something from this woman, much less Genin. But if they all worked together, there was at least a _chance_.

With that thought lingering in my mind, I quietly made my way towards Mamoru. When I finally found him, he was crouched low to the ground, Kaname behind him, keeping watch for anything to his rear.

"Mamoru, I need to talk to you quickly. It's important." I murmured to him as quietly as possible, knowing undoubtedly that he would hear me.

"Shoot." He replied, only glancing at me for a moment before resuming his watch on Naruto-sensei.

"We need to work together with Aiko in order for us to pass this test. That's the trick."

"But there are only two bells..." Mamoru said, a crease to his brow the only sign of his attention being on the conversation.

"But we are a _team_. Whether there are three bells or only one, we all share an objective when we are on a mission. Not only that, but if we chose to go one-on-one with Naruto-sensei, we are guaranteed to lose, even with the intent to kill. But together, we at least stand a chance of getting even just one bell. So are you and Kaname in?" I asked my teammate. I knew that I was far more likely to gain him to my way of thinking if I included his partner too.

"You know... I think this is the most I have ever heard you speak all at the same time. Congrats, you graduated from sentences and random grunts to actual conversation. I'm proud of you." I rolled my eyes as Mamoru sent me a wolfish grin that screamed of mischief, but I could tell by the way he was starting to prepare for movement that I had gotten him to see reason.

It took a lot of maneuvering and about 30 minutes of our time, but we managed to get to Aiko's hiding spot, which was rather precarious and overwatched a lot of the training ground, allowing us to watch Naruto-sensei's every move.

"Aiko, we need to work together." I said outright, choosing not to beat around the bush.

The girl looked at Mamoru, Kaname, then me, before answering, "Whatever convoluted plan of action you two came up with, I hope you know that if it fails and I don't get to become Naruto-sensei's pupil, that I'm going to wring both of your necks. I'm in."

I couldn't help the shiver of fear that ran down my back. Even to this day I can clearly remember when we first started classes together.

 _At the Academy, Tadashi's first day_

 _I walked into the classroom, and the first thing I saw was the large chalkboard at the front of the room with the name "Henge" written on it. The first thing I heard, however, was a little girls voice over the murmur of other students, "Who the heck are you calling cute?! I don't care how popular you are! I swear that one day I'll be a strong kunoichi, and I'm not gonna let some silly little_ boy _get in the way!" a little girl with bright amber eyes and long silver hair yelled out, obviously trying to reprimand some other kid for trying to flirt with her, if I had to guess anything._

 _"Whatever! My dad says that the only thing kunoichi's are good at is seduction missions and being worthless in a fight." the boy that the girl was apparently yelling at said in retaliation._

 _Before anyone else could say anything, a boy with shaggy brown hair and slited eyes wearing a black sleeveless shirt on top of a long sleeved mesh shirt was in front of him and gripping him by the collar, "Bullshit. Girls are just as qualified of Shinobi as boys, and your father sounds like a worthless piece of trash to say such disgraceful things about his comrades." the boy growled out, sounding more animal than human._

 _At that moment I felt a dark aura emitting from the girl who had kicked up the original fuss, "I dare you to say something like that to my face Iranu." Everyone in the room besides the boy holding Inaru's collar started to shiver from the look on her face as she got closer to Iranu._

 _With a slam, the man who had been in the office with me to accept me into this class came in and quickly got the classes attention, "Quiet! Mamoru, let go of Iranu and get to your seat! We have a new student and I don't want you lot to make him feel unwelcome already. Now, Tadashi, my name is Iruka Umino, and I'll be your sensei. Now, would you please introduce yourself to the class?" Iruka-sensei smiled down kindly at me._

 _I looked to the other students, and gathered my courage, as my nerves were going haywire. I took a breath to begin...***_

"Cool your tits, Aiko. We were thinking that there was absolutely no way to get those bells by ourselves and Tadashi here figured out what the real test is. Go on, explain it to her." Mamoru said, looking at me expectantly.

Aiko moved her gaze to me and I began, "Teamwork. There's a reason that they put us in a three man squad. Have you ever seen a Genin team with less than three members and one Jonin? There's a reason for that." I pointed out to her quietly.

"Alright. Makes sense. So what's the plan?"

* * *

 _Third Person POV_

Naruto was standing in a field, she had created three shadow clones before she had shown herself to her students and they all should have followed them when they all went to hide.

"Well, at least they know better than to face me head on. Heh. I've only just met them and they're already doing better than Menma's squad did. I remember laughing so hard along with mom when Kakashi-baka told us about what Menma did." she talked to herself.

Suddenly she felt the rush of memories as one of her clones dismissed itself.

"So Tadashi figured it out, huh? Should be interesting."

As She spent the next 20 or so minutes reading her book on fuuinjutsu, she made sure to keep careful watch of her surroundings. With no clone on Tadashi anymore, she had no clue as to whether he would come after her or if he would truly seek out his teammates. She honestly hoped for the latter, as it would mean that they were at least a step closer to passing.

Again, she felt a new rush of memories, this time from the clone that had been following Mamoru and Kaname.

"So they've banded together and they're going to try and find Aiko in the cliffs? Well, she chose semi-decently at least. Easy position to defend, however difficult to escape from in the case of necessary retreat. You'd have to have utmost confidence in your skills to take on a position like that."

Now that they were off to find the final teammate, she knew it was only a matter of time until they all came for her. She began to set about some small traps in the surrounding field to help catch them off guard and test their ability to cope with plans going awry. Then she took out some special kunai from a seal that she had drawn onto her left forearm.

Staring at the three pronged blades, she couldn't help but be reminded of her father. He had been so proud to give her her first one after her first day of the Ninja Academy. He had told her that if she ever needed him, he had put a special alerting seal on the blade and all she would have to do is push just a little bit of her chakra into the seal then throw the blade down and he would be there in an instant. That particular blade was the one she was holding at this very moment. She still sometimes pushed just a small amount of chakra into the seal when she missed him so much that it would hurt and would wonder if he could feel that in the Pure realm.

Chuckling and realizing that she was being ridiculous, she set about placing the Hiraishin kunai about the field, keeping in mind that she knew whether they were able to get the bells or not, if they worked together, she would pass them with flying colors.

It was an hour later that she finally got the memories from her final clone that had followed Aiko. She knew their entire plan now, but she had to admit it was a good one. Perhaps she'll even let it play out for a little while before she finally used the flying Raijin to escape them. Or maybe she would play with them? She hasn't had any good entertainment since yesterday when she messed with Kakashi after telling him to do his work. The look on his face had been priceless, but the completion of his paperwork was the only thing to calm her down, as her beloved ramen was safe for another day.

She felt four familiar chakra signatures come near as they all split up to surround the field. She continued to read her book however, ignoring the presence of her students.

From her left she heard a loud yell from one of her male students, "Naruto-sensei! I challenge you! I'm gonna get one of those bells from you no matter what!" It was Mamoru and Kaname.

I chuckled, playing into what I knew they were doing, "Do you really think challenging me with only you and Kaname is such a great idea, Mamoru?"

"Just you wait!" He yelled as he charged his sensei, trying to use his taijutsu to distract her. Naruto had to admit, he was fairly advanced for his age, but stood nearly no chance if he were to come across someone else like her, whose taijutsu was based on evasion and drawing out the battle to wear down on the stamina of their opponent.

As Naruto was fending off Mamoru, mostly by deflecting his blows and turning his momentum against him, Tadashi came out of the forest.

That was the moment that she knew her clones had been ousted following them, as this wasn't part of their original plan. She knew that either the clones had been found out, or the three had taken extra precautions and changed details of their plan right before the confrontation.

As Tadashi came up on his sensei's left flank she turned to meet him, but it was that moment that Mamoru and Kaname took to enact their own end of the plan: Mamoru would hold down her right leg and Kaname would bite into her corresponding arm, immobilizing it. Then in a burst of speed, Tadashi kicked the back of her left knee, forcing the Jonin into a kneel, while he twisted her left arm behind her back, forcing her hand up between her shoulder blades, "Now, Aiko!"

And that's when Naruto noticed Aiko had run forward from her position in the tree line behind them. She threw a kunai, aiming for the strings attached to the bells. There were only moments left to get them now.

Mamoru watched his sensei closely, looking for any indications that she was going to try something. Unfortunately he had no idea what 'trying something' was supposed to look like. Then, as Aiko was throwing the kunai to cut the bells away, his sensei smiled at him, and his stomach dropped, before activating the Hiraishin and teleporting away.

Naruto stood up to her feet, looking over at the little Genin with her hand that had been bitten on her hip. They all looked so exhausted, she almost felt bad for them. Almost.

Then, the alarm indicating the end of the test sounded through the clearing and there stood all three Genin, plus Kaname, empty handed.

After a long silence, Aiko was the first to speak, "No... We... We failed." Her eyes brimmed with tears. When her two teammates saw this, they both walked up to her, each grabbing one of her hands, even Kaname, who was back on Mamoru's head, hopped onto Aiko's shoulder to nuzzle the girl.

Naruto smiled at this. They truly did have what it took to become great ninja.

"Team, look at me." she said to the four as she knelt in front of them.

They all looked at her with big eyes, fear and worry evident, "But we aren't a team. And you won't be our sensei. We failed." It was Tadashi to speak up that time.

Naruto's face was serious as she regarded her young team, "Actually, you are a team. And... I will be your sensei," The three gasped, holding each others hands tighter, "The point of the test wasn't to actually get the bells. It was to work together to do so. Failure in the Shinobi world is inevitable. It is also the strongest tool for learning. In fact, there's a little known secret to failure. Do you want to know it?"

All three looked at her with wide eyed rapture, as if memorizing every word she was saying, and nodded their heads vigorously.

"The secret is that failing is like falling down. You may fall down a million times, but that's okay, as long as you get back up a million and one."

She smiled at the three preteens before looking off to the side, while stuffing her hands in her pockets, "But honestly you shouldn't be so quick to judge yourselves. You didn't even fail." She said with a casual wave, as if shooing off a bug.

"WHAT?!" All three yelled at the same time, causing a flock of birds to take to the sky, squawking loudly, as the three Genin gave chase to their laughing sensei.

This was the scene that Kakashi and Menma walked into.

As they watched Kakashi couldn't help but let a small grin stretch his lips. The scene reminded him of her father and his team when they had first come together. Naruto was laughing loudly, her ponytail flowing behind her as she ran.

Then suddenly she took a sharp turn and was barreling towards him, and he had been so distracted with watching her that he didn't even have time to react, and the next thing he knew he was on his back, Naruto on top of him, his hands on her hips, her hands on the ground on either side of his head, thankfully holding her upper body off of him slightly, as he didn't think he could handle her being _that_ pressed against him, and her wide blue eyes staring down into his two black ones.

Naruto wasn't expecting this little situation at all. One moment she's having a bit of fun with her new team, and the next she's quite literally on top of Kakashi.

She blushed.

A deep red that went from her chest to the roots of her blonde hair. And the real kicker? She _liked_ where she was at. But that wouldn't stop her impending embarrassment. She scrabbled off of Kakashi as quickly as possible. When she felt a dark aura, she turned towards her brother, who she was only just realizing was there.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Menma growled out, already having a list composed in his mind of just how he was going to hurt the old pervert. No one got to touch his dear sister. He would be damned before he let someone dishonor his sister that way.

Kakashi got up swiftly, raising his hands in a placating gesture, knowing his student's temper, but most importantly trying to quell the reaction he was going to get from Naruto, "Maah, Maah, It was only an accident Menma. No need to get so upset."

"Kaka-baka!" This time it was Naruto who yelled, punching his arm, but not hard enough to actually cause damage, "Why didn't you move! You're the Hokage dammit! You should be able to at least move out of the way!"

 _'Little does she know...'_ Menma thought to himself. He had watched those two dance around each other for years and he was honestly starting to wonder if he would have to stop holding his mother back from putting those two in awkward situations to get them moving along. Don't get him wrong, he didn't like the thought of _anyone_ being with his sister. She was _his_ sister and the only person he didn't mind sharing her attention with was his mother, but he couldn't help it. His mother had always laughed at him whenever he said things like this, always telling him that when he was little he would glare at anyone who ever tried to take his sisters attention away from him. She had always doted on him though, especially during the time when their mother went on mission after mission trying to keep them safe.

"Maah, but Naru-chan~! I wanted to come see how my closest friend's team is doing! You did ask for them personally after all." Kakashi said with his typical eye smile.

Naruto huffed, crossing her arms and cocking her hip, "You mean you wanted to avoid paperwork and dragged my poor little brother with you!" She said, grabbing Menma and pulling his face into the crook of her neck in a protective manner. Not that Menma minded, he had the perfect opportunity to glare at his sensei who had been checking out his precious Onesan.

Suddenly there was an interruption from the three Genin of the group, "Um, Naruto-sensei, I didn't know you were so close with the Rokudaime..." Mamoru was the one to speak up.

"Eh?" Naruto said, looking at her pupil, "Yes, Kaka-baka and I were on a team together. In fact, he was my brothers sensei, and it was as his second-in-command that I joined his team."

"What happened to your team though sensei?" Tadashi asked quietly, fearing that he already knew the answer.

Naruto's face darkened slightly, before a small smile took over, "There are a lot of tragic things that happen in the Shinobi world, Tadashi. And I promise you three that I'll tell you all about my own team one day, but that's a bit too heavy for this bright occasion. So why don't I keep my promise of food, eh? What do you guys want to eat?"

"Wow Onesan, you're giving them a choice? I figured you'd just drag them off to Ichiraku's." Menma said, both impressed and slightly put off.

Naruto however was a bit miffed at the statement, "Well, they're the ones who passed, not me, so why wouldn't they choose? And just for saying that, they also get to choose whether you two bakas get to join us."

"Yakiniku! Yakiniku!" Mamoru yelled, obviously giving his vote.

Tadashi simply nodded his agreement with the other boy.

Aiko obviously wasn't so enthusiastic about Yakiniku Q, she wanted to see Naruto-sensei's favorite restaurant, but decided to concede to her teammates, "Yakiniku Q sounds good, but Naruto sensei..." Aiko paused, playing with the end of her battle kimono, "Um, would it be okay if I went with you... to your favorite restaurant... one day?"

The Jonin was taken aback by this, but she realized that Aiko just wanted to be closer to her so she let her hand fall on top of Aiko's hair, ruffling the locks a bit, "Of course Aiko-chan. I would be glad to show you Ichiraku's sometime."

Kakashi himself was very happy for this. It seemed that Naruto had gotten lucky with this particular Kunoichi. He knew that many were fangirls at this age, and it didn't help that her brother was the object of many of their desires. This particular kunoichi however seemed to only care about succeeding in her career and protecting her comrades.

"Now you three. I told you you would get to decide if those two bakas over there came with us. So what will it be?" Naruto said abruptly, causing both Menma and Kakashi to face fault.

Aiko this time was the first to speak, "Hell yeah! Eating lunch with the Hokage would be so cool! Almost as cool as eating with you sensei!" Aiko squealed, stars shining in her eyes with excitement, making Naruto and surprisingly Tadashi laugh out loud.

"I don't know Sensei. I don't mind your brother, but Hokage-jiji was looking at you funny and he smells funny too." Mamoru said, loudly sniffing the air, Kaname yipping on top of his head.

Kakashi felt his eyebrow twitch at that. he reached out and grabbed the little Inuzuka by the back of his jacket and picked him up. Obviously the kid didn't know about his own heightened sense of smell, nor had his clan taught him the proper manners of having a heightened sense of smell, "You know kid, I can smell you too and it smells like you need to use more deodorant and stop letting Kaname use your washcloth."

Mamoru, for all he was worth, was absolutely _not_ scared! He just knew when to recognize that he was out classed. That's all.

"Kaka-baka. Put my student down. _Now_." Naruto said, a bored look on her face, but a sharp edge to her tone. One that he recognized quite easily as her mother hen mode. Setting the boy down, he turned to the woman who had had his attention for nearly the past decade.

"Maah, I was just saying. Having a good nose means having manners. I never mention other peoples smells to them, now do I?" He said, leaning into her how she always did to him when she was teasing him relentlessly.

"I would like for them both to join us sensei. If you trust someone then I will trust them too." Tadashi said quietly.

Naruto flashed a bright grin before flashing around the clearing, picking up her kunai quickly so that she and the others could make their way to Yakiniku Q.

* * *

 **Alright All, that is Chapter two. It's a bit shorter that the first, but once things start progressing, the chapter will get longer. I'm pretty excited for this story, as well as a few of my others. I'm kinda nervous that I have too much on my plate but I'm doing my absolute best and being able to share stories and make someone laugh or smile with them makes me so so happy. So I really hope you guys enjoyed. Also I noticed some stuff in my last chapter that were kind of ambiguous so I'll clear that up really fast. Naruto doesn't have the Kyuubi inside of her. Menma and Kushina do. Kushina retained the Yin chakra and Menma received the Yang. I have a few more surprises up my sleeve for this story and I am very excited about it! Thank you all for reading, and please review! I always love getting constructive criticism and others views on my writing, I feel like it makes me a better writer for it! Thank you again, and I hope all have a good day!**


	3. First Mission

_I do not own Naruto in any way_

 ** _Training Ground 6 Two Weeks After the Bell Test_**

 ** _Third POV_**

Naruto was excited. Not for the D-Rank hell that would be her life for the next six months, but for the single moment that this morning was going to bring her when her team found out about said D-Rank hell. She planned on having Iruka-sensei snap a picture of her beloved teams faces the moment Kaka-Baka announced their first mission. Especially little Aiko-Chan's.

Naruto could already feel the cackle bubbling up as she approached her team that were all assembled for the day. They all looked so excited, even Tadashi, in his own little way.

"Good morning Team!" Naruto called out once she got close enough to not have to scream at the top of her lungs, "And how are my cute little Genin doing this lovely morning?"

Tadashi, of course had already had her chakra signature pinged before she even got close so he was not surprised like his teammates, and only gave a nod as his two more energetic teammates whipped around to face Naruto.

"Naruto-sensei! I've been here for _hours_!" Naruto looked at her more loud-mouthed male student with a raised eyebrow, "I know you said to get plenty of rest, but I really just couldn't sleep. I am just so pumped for our first real mission!"

Aiko, even more so than Mamoru, was bouncing around like it was her job to be as noisy and boisterous as possible. Which the irony of such was not at all lost on the three's sensei.

Mamoru, while only slightly more docile, was still making his joy obvious, "Sensei, what's our first mission gonna be? Are we protecting some merchant from some bandits, or escorting a dignitary to protect them from missing-nin? Are we finding an enemy hole?!" He jumped so that he had latched himself to Naruto's back, with Kaname nimbly making her way onto Naruto's head.

Naruto couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her, "Well I suppose we will be finding that out once we get to the Hokage's office, now won't we?"

Aiko was suddenly attached to Naruto's front, and had Naruto been a lesser Shinobi, she might have fallen at their students exuberance, however she simply shifted Aiko so that she was situated on her left hip; "Wait wait wait! Hokage-sama's the one who's going to be assigning us our first mission?" Aiko hollered almost directly in Naruto's ear.

Cringing, Tadashi looked to his two teammates who were clinging to their sensei as if she was their own mother and that was where they belonged. He felt torn between admonishing their childish mannerisms or being envious of their easy shows of affection.

"Well of course, Aiko-Chan. It is tradition after all," Naruto said with a pat to Aiko's head before walking forward to scoop up her last charge rather unceremoniously.

Mamoru and Aiko snickered as Naruto bent down to swoop up Tadashi onto her right hip and he let out a squawk, flailing his arms about wildly before latching them around Naruto's neck, tucking his face into the groove where her shoulder met her throat where he could feel the vibrations of her throaty chuckle.

"Alright then my cute little Genin, let's get going!"

 ** _With Team 7 in the Village_**

"Menma-kun, what do you think about my new outfit?" Sakura asked of her now boyfriend at the entrance to a shop near Ichiraku, since they had just had a small good-wishes breakfast with his sister, who was going to be taking her new Genin on their first mission today.

"Hmmm?" Menma looked over at Sakura and saw her wearing a gorgeous red high-low top that showed just a small amount of belly from just above her bellybutton before dipping down and covering everything from the backside, along with a white pair of capris and heeled black ninja sandals, "Oh, I noticed that earlier Sakura-chan. It lookes beautiful on you." He replied with a wide grin on his face.

Sakura, for her part, shifted from side to side, clutching her hands in front of herself. She still couldn't believe that she had fallen for the red head in front of her, and despite her doubts, she couldn't be happier. She had thought for so long that she had been in love with Sasuke that she had ignored the little voice in her head that told her to take the Uzumaki seriously. She still wanted to apologize for the way she had acted when they were younger but she just couldn't bring herself to start the conversation. She was so embarrassed by her younger selfs words and actions that she just couldn't bear to ask whether he truly forgave her for them.

"Thank you Menma-kun. You don't know how much that means to me."

Menma blinked at Sakura for a moment before reaching out to take one of her hands from where they were clasped, "Hey, none of that. I still may not understand why you doubt yourself so much, but you should never worry about that stuff with me. I'd think you were just as beautiful if you wore a flour sack and messy hair. It's not about the clothes or the hair, or anything like that. I may be kinda thick sometimes, but trust me when I say it's _you_ I love, not your looks."

Sakura couldn't help the wide eyed stare she gave him. She had never been told something so sweet. She only remembered all of the rejections and insults that Sasuke had given her growing up about being annoying and useless.

Before she could reply, she caught sight of something behind Menma that made her giggle, causing Menma to turn around and see what it was that had distracted her. She heard him choke when he caught sight of his sister carrying her team through Konoha's streets: one little boy, an Inuzuka if the markings said anything, clinging to her back in a piggy back style, a little girl on her left hip talking animatedly, a quiet boy on her right hip with his face mostly buried in the crook of her neck, with only one half of his face peeking out to see where they were going, but the best of it all with the little wolf pup perched happily on top of her head, seemingly snoozing away.

"What in the actual hell do those little brats think they're doing?" Menma growled out, "don't they know any respect? They're ninja for Kami's sake!"

Sakura let a full laugh out before calling out to Naruto, "Naruto-san! How are the little brats doing?"

Naruto looked over to them while the little girl who had previously been chatting to the rest of her team turned as much as she could to get a look at the speaker, before her eyes widened comically.

"Wah! Naruto-sensei is that really Sakura-San with your brother?" Sakura heard the girl call out. Well, if she had one thing to say about the girl already, it was that she knew her famous Shinobi.

"Yes, that's really Sakura-chan, Aiko-chan. I know you look up to her a lot too." Naruto said with a sly smile towards Sakura.

"Oh, so you know about me then little Aiko-chan? That's very sweet of you." Sakura smiled down at the girl in Naruto's arms.

"Oh whatever. You can coo about her all you want later. What I want to know is why three _Shinobi_ aren't walking by themselves instead of being carried when they aren't injured." Menma broke into the conversation.

"Nonsense. Stop trying to pick on my team Menma-kun. They're perfect where they are. I'll carry my damn team if I want to ototou. I did it plenty with you when you were little." Naruto said with a slightly sharp edge to her own voice, looking at Menma with an admonishing eye.

"Naruto-San, while I think it's adorable, they are Shinobi of their own right. Do you really think it's best to carry them in such a way?" Sakura broke in before Menma could stick his foot any further in his mouth.

"Sensei said that we're fine so we're fine, dammit! No one questions Sensei. Sensei knows best, right Kaname?" Mamoru finally broke in, with his companion sounding off from her nap to confirm Mamorus words.

Tadashi however, refused to speak. He knew that the two other Shinobi were right (after all, hadn't he been the one earlier considering chiding his teammates about being mature?) but he also felt warm and oddly happy with where he was at. He didn't want to pull away from the comfort his Sensei was offering by simply keeping him in her arms; and he especially didn't want to leave when he could feel the chakra of a strange Shinobi hiding behind a nearby pole. He knew all of the chakra signatures of the village Shinobi but this one was foreign to him so he was automatically weary of it.

Tadashis thoughts were interrupted when he heard the growling of his Sensei's brother, "Why you little brat—"

"Menma, weren't we supposed to be waiting on Sasuke-kun?" Sakura interrupted quickly, knowing that Menma was rather territorial about his only sibling.

"I'm right here." Came a deep voice from right behind the two members of team 7.

Menma whipped around to look at the new member of the conversation only to see his third and final teammate, "Sasuke-teme! What the hell took you so long huh?!"

"He's been there the entire time Naruto-sensei." Tadashi finally said to her. He knew the name Sasuke and he didn't like it. He was known to be a traitor, one of the last Uchiha besides his own mother and some branch family children that had survived Madara Uchihas slaughter thanks in no small part to his own brother. Of course his brother had ended up getting blamed until Menma and Naruto had worked to clear his name after his death. So Tadashi supposed he could understand, but that didn't make him okay with the Uchiha.

Naruto couldn't help the laugh that bubbles out of her at the look on Sasuke's face when Tadashi called him out. She herself had also known her was there but it appeared that Menma and Sakura hadn't.

"What do you mean he's been there the whole time, brat?" Menma asked, looking rather confused to the young Shinobi.

"He means that Sasuke was hiding behind that pole since before I even walked up. I could sense him the moment I started approaching. Tadashi probably knew he was there even earlier than I did."

At this point Sasuke was becoming frustrated. How could such a little brat know that he was even there? He had never heard of such a skilled natural sensor before; not even with Karin, "Naruto-sempai, are these your students that I've been hearing so much about?"

At this point Aiko was getting tired of conversation and wanted to get to her first mission, "Naruto-sensei can we please go get our mission now? You promised that we'd be there bright and early!"

"Yeah, Sensei!" Mamoru kicked in, "we want to get our first mission already!"

Sasuke let just a small chuckle escape, drawing all attention to himself, "I can still remember our excitement for our first mission. Kakashi-Sensei was three hours late to meet us, then of course he always took his time getting anywhere."

"Oh yeah! Kami I hated it when he did that. And hmthen when he did show up he would just be reading that nasty Icha Icha book. I'm just thankful that neither of these two idiots picked that up." Sakura laughed, causing her two male teammates to pout.

"Sakura-chan! It's not my fault that both of my Sensei were perverts." Menma whined at his girlfriend.

It was that moment that Naruto decided to take her leave. This time instead of leisurely walking through the street, she took to the rooftops after reminding her charges to hold on tight.

 ** _Kakashi POV- Hokage Tower_**

It was already a long damn day. I had gotten to the tower only an hour ago (I was supposed to be here three hours ago), but already the paperwork was drowning me. It was never a fun job to be Hokage, but someone had to do it until one of the Uzumaki decided to take it over. And from the fact that Menma was still too young and immature, and Naruto had a Genin team of her own to take care of now, it seemed that I was stuck with the dreadful paperwork for another few years.

"Kaka-baka!" I heard and the window to my office snapped open to reveal a grinning Naruto with three little Genin attached to her person.

I almost wanted to be surprised of her entrance but I had honestly gotten pretty used to her since we were little. To most people she liked to present herself as calm, cool, and collected, this even often went for her brother and mother, since she always had this idea that she had to prove her strength; however, when it was only her and I? She liked to let go, be open and loud, brash and carefree, she liked being able to just let loose and enjoy _being_.

It was only a few years ago that I realized I loved her, and subsequently had an existential crisis, believing wholeheartedly that Uzumaki Kushina was going to beat me, and that Minato-Sensei would come back to life just to drag me off into the woods surrounding Konoha and make sure I was never seen again.

Eventually, of course, I got past those thoughts and settled myself to simply being happy as long as she was. Her boisterous grin and bright blonde hair may be the sunshine of my life, but that didn't make me hers, and if I were honest with myself, it would terrify me if I were. And thus, I decided that watching her from the sidelines as she ripped up every shred of propriety she could find as she went about changing the world at her brothers side was good enough for me.

"-Ashi... Kashi-Baka... _KAKA-BAKA!"_

I was snapped out of my reverie by the woman I'd been thinking about in the first place. Luckily my nose had still been stuffed in my precious Icha-Icha book so it looked like I was just ignoring things as usual, "I'm sorry, did you say something?" I replied with my usual lazy tone, determined to _not_ let Naruto realize what I had been thinking about.

Unfortunately I didn't plan for the speed factor of an angry red blooded Uzumaki.

She snatched away my Icha-Icha before I even had the chance to react, holding it in the air with one hand on each side of the bindings; threatening to rip it to shreds.

"Nooo! Not my Icha-Icha!" I cried out, being as dramatic as possible.

"You ever ignore _me_ like that again and I can promise you," she said, leaning over the desk and giving me a perfect view down her shirt _that I did not notice, nope, not at all,_ "you won't ever be seeing _this_ again." She finished in a low growl, as if her leaning over the desk wasn't killing me already, dammit.

And so, I decided to have a little fun of my own, taking advantage of her current lack of brother as well as her position, "Oh?" I raised my eyebrow, making sure to keep my voice low and smooth, "if that's so, then will you happen to be replacing it with something more..." I glanced down at her chest, that was right in my face, and back up to her eyes, which had widened in realization, "hands on?"

The silence was deafening.

And broken by a damn brat, of all things.

"Damn Sensei! I didn't know you and Hokage-Sama were a _thing_!" The little Inuzuka of Naruto's team called out, accompanied by a low whistle.

Jut as quickly as Naruto had gotten in my face, she was gone, backing up quickly, her face a violent shade of red.

I managed to catch the eye of the little brat and glared down at him over the desk, "Maybe that's because what we are or are not is none of her students' business."

" _Who cares about that!_ What's our mission Hokage-Sama! C'mon please give it to us. We're dying here." The little girl of the team yelled out, her patience apparently wearing thin.

I couldn't help the chuckle. The little girl reminded me of Menma when I had taken team 7 to get their first mission from Sandaime-Sama.

"We have to wait for one other person. He's the one who I told to go get your mission from the mission desk and he's also rather special to your Sensei so I'm sure she'd like to say 'hi' anyways." I said around my chuckles.

At that the doors opened to reveal a man with his hair tied in a ponytail and a long scar running across the bridge of his nose.

"Iruka-Sensei? What are you doing here?" The Inuzuka boy asked loudly.

"Naruto -chan asked for me specifically to retrieve your threes first mission for the Hokage. She figured that it would be nice if your academy teacher could be apart of giving you guys your first mission." Iruka immediately answered, skillfully omitting that he was also there to take a picture of their faces after the mission was read off.

"Speaking of which, could you hand me their mission scroll please Iruka?" I interjected before any of the Genin could start talking again.

"Hai Hokage-Sama."

"Alright let's get this show on the road then," I said making sure to make a show of opening up the scroll, giving the team a smile.

"Hopefully not that damned road of life..." Naruto muttered under her breath.

After sending Naruto a small glare, I spoke to the three Genin, "Your first mission as Shinobi will be..." I paused for added suspense, causing two of the three preteens to lean forward in anticipation, "the capture and return the Fire Daimyo wife's cat Tora to her."

 _BANG, click!_

In that single moment two things happened: Naruto's two loud students fell face first into the floor, presumably from either having leaned too far forward, or from the incredulity of the mission (if the looks on their faces had anything to say about it, probably the latter). Their third teammate simply had a dumb look of shock and disbelief.

In the next moment, two of the three adults were letting out belly laughs, with Naruto herself pointing at her own students and wiping tears away from her eyes from her mirth.

I, myself, simply chuckled, having grown very familiar with the reactions of Genin when giving them their first mission. Although still amusing, it wasn't as grand as it had once been when I had watched my own team react to their first real mission.

Handing the mission scroll to Naruto while she was straightening herself out, I glanced over at Iruka, "Make sure to have that printed and give a copy to them all."

"H-hai, Hokage-Sama." Iruka managed between laughs.

Then before any of the three Genin could contradict her words, Naruto was herding them out of his office, telling them to wait outside for her while she discussed some things with himself. Iruka also took the opportunity to catch up with the three, as they had been training for the last two weeks in preparation for taking their first mission.

As soon as the door was closed, Naruto smiles over at me, and I can feel the _thump-thump_ of my heart speed up in my chest.

"You know, Kashi, there was no need for any of that in front of my cute, _innocent_ , little Genin."

"Oh? No need for what?" I asked, trying to shove as much mock innocence into my voice as possible.

Naruto studied me for a moment, and I took the time to watch her as well, noticing the slight tension in her muscles as well as the shadow in her eyes. The shadow looked like doubt from here, and I didn't like it.

I stood up from my seat and maneuvered around my desk, getting within a couple feet of her, and not for the first time, realizing how tiny she was stature-wise. Standing at a meager 5'4", she was about two inches shorter than her own mother, and just shy of a foot shorter than myself.

"Kakashi..." Naruto whispered, looking at him with a disconcerting mix of hope and apprehension.

"Naruto."

"Kakashi, what are we doing? Are we... are we going to try for something or...?"

I took the moment to think about it. Here was the woman I loved, looking at me like we were both still teens, and trying to figure out how to confess. We had been daicing around each other for Kami knows how long, waiting for one to break and finally make the first move. It was a difficult decision for me, especially. She was my Sensei's _daughter_ for Kami's sake, and I already knew that Minato-Sensei would be trying to dig up that six feet of dirt over top of him to try and murder me for even the thought, yet...

"That depends." I finally replied after a long moment.

Naruto's eyes immediately shot up to meet my own, the hope beginning to suppress the doubt, "... Depends on what, exactly?"

I swallowed hard, making my decision, "On whether you'd like to go out to dinner with me tonight." Sensei could roll in his damn grave all he wanted. I fell in love with his daughter, who was eight years my younger, mind you, but I didn't really care.

And Kami, was her smile worth it. The grin that slowly stretched her lips and revealed her perfect white teeth to him was possibly the most magnificent one yet, "Of course, you Baka. Why don't we meet at Yakiniku Q's, tonight at 20:00*?" She said, her voice slightly breathy and only working to make my heart beat even faster.

"Sounds perfect."

 **Omake #1**

 ** _Yakiniku Q's, after the Bell test two weeks prior..._**

Mamoru was astounded. Flabbergasted. Holy-crap-what-on-Kami's-green-earth-am-I-seeing-right-now stunned.

Right in front of him stood the most _atrocious_ looking pair of human beings, _much less NINJA,_ that Mamoru had ever had the utter horror of encountering.

"My eternal rival! I understand that you may now be Hokage, but I must insist that you partake in a YOUTHFUL challenge of strength so that you may not lose your edge!"

Before Mamoru and his two teammates and their other companions stood the self-proclaimed "Green Beast of Konoha" and his... _most youthful_ student: Maito Gai, and Rock Lee.

The three Genin watched with rapt attention as their Hokage simply kept reading his orange covered book for a moment or two more before turning towards the green spandex wearing monstrosity, "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Naruto and Menma, of course, rolled their eyes and snickered respectively, before simply tuning out what they knew was to come and turning back to the three Genin to continue the conversation they had been having about strengths and weaknesses of different Shinobi specialties.

However, only young Tadashi rejoined the conversation, choosing to follow his senseis lead and ignore the chaos blossoming around him.

His teammates were far too enthralled in the vision before them though to look away; after all, how could they when a grown man was crying crocodile tears and whining about their Hokage's "cool and hip attitude"?

As Lee and Gai held each other declaring things of youth, and crying together and talking about— Mamoru choked— _doing 1,000 laps around the damn village_ , Mamoru had a vivid moment of clarity where he really only could ask himself one question.

' _What the hell did he get himself into now?'_

 _ **Third chapter: COMPLETE! I am so sorry that this took so long to get out. I've been dealing with school, family, and helping out some close friends with their newborn. Who, by the way, IS THE CUTEST WHITTLE BABY EVER!!! Sorry. I just had to brag. ANYHOW, I should be pushing out chapters more often for this story and hopefully finding some new inspiration for a few of my others. That would be really nice, especially for those fans who have been waiting so patiently, I promise that I'm not giving up, but having so much on my plate is making life and getting out new chapters difficult. I'm trying to study to be an astronautical engineer so...**_

 _ **Alright. So to clarify, a lot of the history of this AU will be told using flashbacks or Omake's. So be patient, you will not always be stumbling in the dark my sweet, beautiful readers.**_

 _ **Until next time, stay happy!**_


	4. The Ones Who Endure

**PLEASE READ! Okay so this chapter is gonna be a little extra long. It's me highlighting past events and the history of this fanfiction. This chapter is essential to understanding Naruto and her past. It highlights a lot of why she is who she is and it defines the relationships between her and her comrades and family. It's going to seem a little disjointed because it's not going to flow forward necessarily. The timeline of the "memories" is going to bounce around from "recent" to "childhood". While I suppose you could, I would not recommend skipping this chapter. I love this story and I love the characters, and I hope you will too. This is all basically to make sure that you guys are able to understand the connections and seemingly inconsequential moments that actually mean a lot to this fic. Thank you for taking the time to read this A/N, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It was once said that ninjas are The Ones Who Endure. Endure loss. Endure pain. Through all the rage and sadness, a ninja will endure. This is something that both Namikaze Naruto and Hatake Kakashi know all too well. It is something that both go to great strides to teach their students. They try their best to impart to those students that it doesn't matter how weak or strong you are. The one who _endures_ is the one who will succeed. Of course, when their students think that success means "to win" they correct them with firm words and actions. To succeed does not mean to win—we're looking at you Menma, Mamoru— it means to learn. It also means to protect. To never leave your comrades behind. It means to step up to the plate and _learn_ how to _protect_ your precious people. That, Kakashi always says, is what it means To Endure.

* * *

 ** _Hokages Office, shortly after the death of Rin, Naruto: 5; Kakashi: 13_**

 _Kakashi has gotten nearly no sleep the last few days since he'd... since Rin's death. You couldn't see it for his gloves, but his right hand was nearly scrubbed raw. Every time he looked at his hand, he could see his teammates blood staining the skin. He wondered if he would ever stop seeing her blood there._

THUD! CRACK! _The office doors were thrown open with such force that they cracked some of the dry wall in the office all the way up to the ceiling. Looking back, Kakashi expected to see a very pregnant red headed woman, hair flailing about in her anger, but instead found open air, until his gaze trailed downwards to find a bright head of golden hair, the bangs of which covering the eyes he knew were mismatched blue and violet._

 _"Naruto? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Minato asked his daughter, and soon to be eldest child._

 _"Papa," Naruto looked up, tears streaming down her face, leaving streaks, "tell me it's not true... tell me. Tell me she's not. She can't be_ ** _gone_** _!" At this Naruto fell to her knees, anger receding, and in its place an unbearable emptiness._

 _Kakashi, surprisingly, was the one to step forward. He kneeled down in front of Naruto and slowly reached out, hesitating only slightly before pulling her towards him in a tight embrace._

 _Naruto, for all she was worth, immediately grabbed onto the front of Kakashi's flak with a vice like grip. She let out the sobs she had been holding back, simply burying her face into the crook of Kakashi's neck. She let out all the pain from the loss of her big sister figure. Rin had always been just a little more special to Naruto than the other two: she was a girl, after all, and Rin was one of the first people she remembered at all besides Kakashi when he was Minato's only student._

 _Rin was the first person outside her parents and the Uchiha main family to take an interest in the_ _ **real**_ _her. The villagers were all super nice and once her father was selected for Hokage, they even called her Hime, but that's all she was to them. The Yellow Flashes daughter, the Yondaime's daughter._

 _But Rin always took extra time out of her day to talk to Naruto or take her shopping for clothes, or to get sweets or ramen with her. Rin was the big sister that Naruto didn't have, the one that showed her how to gossip (because Kami knows, Kushina tries, but she just can't be quiet about things to save her life), she showed her that you can be gentle and warm, yet still be just as deadly._

 _Naruto, to say it simply,_ _ **loved**_ _Rin._

 _"How... How did it happen? And don't lie to me! I want to know. I can handle it." Naruto finally got out around her slowing hiccuping sobs._

 _She heard Kakashi mumble something so low that she could barely hear him._

 _Naruto pulled back just enough to look at his face, only to see his mask soaked from the tears that were silently falling from his downcast eyes, his borrowed Sharingan revealed to her now, not for the first time._

 _"What?" She whispered, ignoring the loud clearing of her fathers throat._

 _Kakashi choked a little, not wanting the girl to hate him and for him to lose her too, but he owed her this. He owed her an explanation for why her adopted big sister wasn't coming back, "I'm sorry!"_

 _Kakashi reached up, placing his hands around her small wrists, and he realized just how fragile she looked in this moment. She always seemed so big; he sometimes forgot that she was 8 years younger than him. She was so intelligent, and while having a closer personality to her father than her mother, she just had this_ _ **larger than life**_ _quality that made her seem so infallible to him. It was part of why he hadn't wanted to get close to her back when he was her fathers only student, but seeing her like this now? She wasn't even like this when Obito died. She had cried, yes, she had raged! But it was more like a blow to her, than what this was._

 _She looked like something inside her had ruptured._

 _"I'm so sorry, Naruto. It's my fault. It's... all my—"_

 _"Don't be a jackass Kakashi!" Naruto yelled, shaking him via the death grip she still had on his flak._

 _"Namikaze Naruto! Language!" Minato tried to break into the moment, reprimanding his daughter. He had no idea where she was getting_ _ **that**_ _kind of language from, but he didn't want his precious little girl repeating it. Even if she was right at the moment..._

 _"It couldn't be your fault! I don't even have to know what happened to know that it's not your fault!" Naruto continued along as if she didn't hear her father at all._

 _"You shouldn't be saying things that you know nothing about," Kakashi said quietly, almost gently, "I was the one who did it, Naruto. I— my chidori._ _ **My**_ _chidori—!" He gripped her wrists just a little tighter, but not tight enough to hurt her. He wouldn't dare ever hurt her, she was one of the only precious people he had left._

 _Minato's breath hitched as he watched the scene playing out before him. He didn't want Naruto to know the details, but he could understand Kakashi's own need for her to know. For her to judge for herself whether Kakashi was right or wrong in blaming himself._

 _Minato prayed._

 _He prayed that his daughter would be the one to knock some sense into his wavering student. He prayed that their bond would strengthen and they could help each other through these losses. Of course, it better not strengthen_ _ **that**_ _way. There was still no way that Minato would ever let some_ _ **boy**_ _near his little Naru. Of course his thoughts were kind of ridiculous at the moment. She was only five. '_ But she won't always be!' _He thought to himself._

 _Minato was brought out of such thoughts by a resounding_ ** _SLAP_** _. He watched as one of his student's hands went up to cup his offended cheek, his eyes wide and staring straight at the enraged girl before him._

 _At the same time a certain redhead took up the open doorway, slightly out of breath, her violet eyes wide and gazing at her daughter before darting up to look at her husband, who put one finger up to his lips in a silencing gesture. He was the only one to notice her presence, even the silver haired young Jonin was too enraptured by her daughters anger to even notice Kushina standing in the doorway._

 _Kushina nodded before returning her attention to the two children._

 _"How dare you," Naruto began saying, making a lead weight settle into the stomachs of the other occupants of the room, "How_ **dare** _you!"_

 _And just as Kakashi's head bowed in utter shame, Minato and Kushina both stepped forward, ready to pull Naruto away before she could cause more damage than good._

 _This, however, went utterly ignored by the youngest in the room, "First of all! Don't you ever tell me not to say something I believe in with my heart!" Every pair of eyes turned toward Naruto once again, "And second of all!" Naruto released her other hand from Kakashi's flak and lunged forward, tackling Kakashi so that instead of kneeling, he was plopped on his ass, and Naruto was on her knees in between his opened legs, her arms circled around his neck tightly, but making sure not to choke him._

 _"Naruto..." Kakashi managed to get out around his surprise._

 _"Stop! Stop hurting yourself! I can't— I **won't** lose you too!" The five year old girl called out, and it was obvious she was crying again, but there was a new facet to her voice. A vulnerable determination that had never colored her voice before making its debut in the venerable moment. _

_"Naruto! This isn't something that you can just ignore. You can't—" Kakashi finally got enough wits about him to try and act angry with the girl. He couldn't understand why she was hugging him. He couldn't understand why she still cared! She should hate him! He had basically just told he'd killed her sister for Kami's sake!_

 _"No Kakashi! There has to be more to it! You wouldn't do something like that. You may have been a cold bastard but you would **never** hurt your own teammates. You'd never hurt Rin. Not after we lost Obito!" Naruto cried out, giving Kakashi pause, before the tension in his body melted away, and he simply went limp in Naruto's arms. _

_"But I did. I did hurt her. She's not coming home and it's my own fault, Naruto. I'm the reason she's gone forever." And he was. He could still feel his lightning covered hand piercing her heart._

 _"I believe that you believe that, Kashi. I believe that maybe you really even did deliver the final blow. But... but I don't believe that you did it on purpose. That you **wanted** to hurt her. I'll never ever believe that, and even if I have to follow you around every minute of every day and tell you that over and over and over again until you forgive yourself, I'll do it. I won't lose you to this, Hatake Kakashi. I won't let you hurt yourself because **I forgive you**!" _

_And suddenly, Kakashi could breathe. The pain was still there. Oh, he knew it would always be there. A stubborn reminder of his losses. But hearing this girl who had loved Rin with all her heart forgiving him made the air a little easier to take in._

 _He wasn't going to lose her. She didn't hate him. Those two thoughts kept echoing back and forth in his mind before it finally truly sunk in._

 _He wasn't going to lose her._

 _She was still hugging him, and he finally wound his arms around the tiny bundle of blonde and determination and pulled her closer. It was that moment that he knew she was his last lifeline. The anchor that connected him to his last shreds of sanity._

 _A loud sniffle and **click** was heard in the room before the two were further engulfed by a flurry of vibrant red hair and a white cloak with red flames._

* * *

 ** _Uchiha Clan District, the Night Itachi Killed His Clan; Naruto: 12, Itachi: 13, Sasuke: 7_**

 _Kitsune was moving as fast as she could, trying her best to ignore all the bodies lying lifelessly on the ground around her. She didn't know what exactly was happening, but she knew that Weasel, her fellow ANBU Captain, hadn't reported for duty that night._

 _Weasel was never late._

 _That single, unchanging fact was why she had put her team on red alert and sent them to notify the rest of the ANBU and Jonin forces. Something had to be extremely wrong for Weasel not to report for duty, and considering the Coup that he had told her about his clan planning..._

 _Well, Kitsune was worried. And it appeared that she had damn good reason to be, seeing as the district looked like it has rained blood on the streets. The deep red liquid was splashed across every possible surface that she could see._

 _There was so much that she would be having a much harder time keeping her footing if not for the chakra she applied to the soles of her feet._

 _"Kitsune! What the hell were you thinking coming here with no back up?" Kitsune glanced over to see another ANBU. He had wiry silver hair that defied gravity, and a dog mask covering all his features but his eyes._

 _"Inu. I told my team that their priority was to alert the rest of the forces before receiving follow up orders from Hokage-Sama while I take immediate action and scout ahead. **Just like protocol states**."_

 _"You should have at least brought a teammate or a fellow Captain." Inu huffed, not relenting in his frustration._

 _"Well you're here now, aren't you?" Kitsune replied stiffly._

 _Inu simply huffed, but they continued to the main house of the Uchiha Clan in heavy silence._

 _The blood itself no longer bothered her. Neither did the bodies. During her time in ANBU she had seen plenty of death. Dealt it herself, even. Her own mother had begged her not to join the ANBU Corps, but she had anyways._

 _She had promised her best friend and only remaining teammate that she would follow him all the way to the top. It was **his** dream to become the Hokage and while she had no ideations for it, very much unlike her otouto, she had told her best friend that she would do everything in her power to aid him in his dreams. She believed in him with all her heart. She loved him like he was her long lost twin, and she knew he felt the same towards her. _

_And so, she worked to stay by his side always. She graduated second highest of their academy class, she got promoted to Chunin and then Jonin the same day as him, and when he joined the ANBU Corps, she followed his lead. She even became a Captain shortly after him._

 _These were the thoughts running through her head as she came upon the most gruesome sight of all._

 _Itachi standing over his terrified brother, blocking Sasuke's view of Itachi running his katana through their fathers heart. Kitsune could not see Itachi's face, but she could sense the disturbances in his chakra that spelled out trouble. Disturbances like the ones she could sense coming from Itachi only presented themselves during times of extreme emotions. There was no telling what those emotions were, but she knew it made him dangerous._

 _"Uchiha Itachi! Put your weapon on the ground and surrender to arrest!" Inu called out, his voice ringing across the utter silence._

 _"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible." Itachi replied, much more calmly than his chakra was indicating he should be as he dropped his fathers lifeless body to the ground._

 _"Why would you do this Itachi?! What made you kill your entire clan?" Kitsune tried. She just couldn't understand. They had a plan! Shisui—_

 _"Wait! Itachi, where's Shisui? There was a plan—" Kitsune hesitated at Itachi's small cringe, though his back was still turned to them, and the spike in his chakra._

 _"Shisui is dead. He committed suicide earlier tonight." Itachi toned, recovering almost immediately from his small show of emotion._

 _When Itachi finally turned around, and Inu caught sight of Itachi's Sharingan, he gasped. Itachi's Sharingan looked like a curved three pointed shuriken, and tears of blood ran down his face._

 _Inu immediately averted his eyes to the tip of Itachi's nose, knowing better than to try and keep eye contact. He heard Kitsune's gasp of shock beside him, and he remembered his promise to his Sensei. To protect her, her brother, and her mother. He remembered the day she found out about Obito. The day she found out about Rin._

 _Inu's thoughts ran amuck for a moment before he cleared his head enough to speak, "Itachi, I'll ask of you one more time, before force becomes required: surrender now. We can still help you. You could still be found not-guilty in the investiga—"_

 _"There is no point, Inu-San. I am guilty and there is nothing more that needs to be said." As soon as he finished that, he made a small movement towards Sasuke._

 _With a shout of "Don't look in his eyes!" From Kitsune to Sasuke, Inu and Kitsune both leapt into action. Kitsune darting towards Sasuke to get him away from the battle she knew would ensue, and Inu moving to engage Itachi, to attempt to either arrest the Uchiha himself or keep him in the area until other ANBU arrived to provide aid._

 _Had it not been for Inu, Kitsune wouldn't have gotten to Sasuke in time. She knew Itachi's skill set intimately and knew without a doubt that Itachi is faster than her when she couldn't use her fathers technique._

 _Picking Sasuke up bridal style, she darted off towards a small grouping of chakra signatures within the district that had one chakra signature that she was familiar with. But there was another that worried her. It was powerful and strangely familiar. Like she had once known who it belonged to, by no longer did._

 _When she came upon the small group of survivors, she was thrilled to find Mikoto standing protectively in front of a group of toddlers and academy children._

 _She was not so thrilled to see a tall man in a black cloak with red clouds decorating it facing the small group of survivors._

 _"Sasuke-Kun, if you would please join your mother and the others," Kitsune said, hiding the relief and irritation she felt by keeping her voice level._

 _"Mother!" Sasuke called out to Mikoto, who's face melted in relief and joy at seeing her child unharmed, before pushing him behind her to join the other children huddled away in the corner behind her._

 _"Oooooh, how heart warming, eh ANBU-San?" The figure in the cloak said, his only eye showing through the swirled orange mask on his face, Kitsune's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, Sharingan spinning lazily._

 _It was not this however, that gave Kitsune such a sense of deja vú. It was his voice. It sounded familiar yet different, and she could not place it for the life of her._

 _"I am sorry to seem rude, shinobi-San, but Mikoto-San? Does his voice sound familiar to you?" Kitsune asked without once taking her eyes off of the masked man._

 _Mikoto's eyes widened, she could feel that she had subconsciously activated her Sharingan when the unfamiliar Uchiha had shown up, but now that the ANBU-disguised Naruto had mentioned it, the voice was familiar. Painfully so._

 _"ANBU-San, I do recognize it. It... it sounds like **him**." Mikoto didn't say his name, but she was sure Minato's one daughter would realize who she meant. He was her father's student after all, and she was her father's daughter. _

_Kitsune watched the masked man tense up. If she could guess, he didn't want anyone to know who he was and for some reason that made her want to poke and prod him some more about it._

 _Wait._

 _ **HIM?!**_

 _That just couldn't be though, "N-no." Kitsune whispered, "No. No no no! That's not possible." Kitsune snarled, "He's **dead** , he's **gone**!" Realizing she broke her composure for a moment, Kitsune quickly reined herself back together again. At least... at least it was her, and not Inu who was here. At least she would be able to break it to him personally that someone was impersonating his best friend. _

_Mikoto and the children could hear the heartbreak in the ANBU's voice no doubt. And so could the masked Obito. There was a small twinge in his chest, seeing the pain that he had put his honorary Imouto through, but he had to do this. He had to bring peace to the world. Damned the consequences._

 _There was a loud crash and then Inu and Itachi were there, Inu flying through the air, only to be caught by Kitsune releasing a pair of golden chains from herself, bringing Inu back to a standing position in front of the masked man impersonating Obito._

 _Itachi went to stand at the masked mans side and before anyone could move, they were gone in a swirl of black._

 _Kitsune heard Mikoto cry out, and only had time to look before Mikoto was on her knees, clutching her only remaining son to herself as they both wailed their losses into the night._

 _Inu and Kitsune glanced at each other before taking off. The medics and normal Jonin forces had arrived. They were no longer needed. At least, not their ANBU selves._

* * *

 ** _Konhagakure no Sato, the Night of the Kyuubi Attack, November 10_**

 ** _Naruto: 5, Menma: newborn, Kakashi: 13_**

 _The foulest chakra Naruto had ever felt was flushing out the peaceful night in her village. Tonight was supposed to have been a good night. The night her otouto was born. The night she finally added a new precious person. Heck! She and Itachi hadn't even had the chance to join the academy yet!_

 _They were supposed to **last** year but just as they were about to attend, Sandaime-jiji changed his mind about letting them! _

_Naruto growled as she ran through the chaotic streets. Her father was currently fighting the Kyuubi and trying to push it away from the village. She had absolute faith that he would succeed._

 _"Naru-chan?!"_

 _Naruto stopped and looked over to see Kakashi standing about three feet away from her, "Kashi! Take me to mama!"_

 _"Naruto!" Kakashi said chidingly, "You should be evacuating like the rest of the children and civilians."_

 _"I won't leave my family behind! My mom and otouto are all by themselves right now and I can't leave them like that!" Naruto exclaimed, and Kakashi was thrown back to the day she had decided to call him a Baka for the first time, for some odd reason._

 _"Alright, Naru-chan, I'll take you to them. Hop on my back and hold on tight, alright?"_

 _"Alright!"_

 _As Kakashi roof hopped toward Naruto's chosen destination, he had to fight the lead weight resting at the bottom of his stomach. Something bad was going to happen tonight. Something worse than even the Kyuubi's escape._

 _"Hey, Kashi?" He heard Naruto's voice sound out just barely over the wind. He turned to look at her with his revealed Sharingan eye, "do... you feel it too? Like, like something horrible is coming?"_

 _Kakashi chuckled nervously, not wanting to worry the girl any more than she obviously already was, "Worse than the Kyuubi attacking the village you mean? I'm sure things can only get better from here Naru-chan." He tried hard to reassure her, or maybe himself even._

 _As if contradicting his efforts, there was another roar from the Kyuubi._

 _Naruto simply hummed in the affirmative, trying desperately to assuage the knots twisting her stomach._

 _After a few more minutes the pair arrived in a clearing where they saw Kushina standing next to a makeshift crib or alter, leaning heavily on it and gazing at a bundle of blue._

 _As soon as Kushina heard footsteps coming toward her and her son she took up a defensive stance, only to see a blur of silver and golden hair running towards her. She relaxed almost immediately, dropping to her knees to welcome her five year old daughter and her companion into her arms._

 _She hugged the two tightly before releasing them and checking them for any injuries. When she was finished she stood up to scold them both, "What are you two doing here! It's dangerous, and you two should already be in the evacuation tunnels dattebane!"_

 _She noticed that Kakashi at least had the good grace to look ashamed, but Naruto looked no such way. Her daughter was wearing a defiant look that Kushina had seen seldom times, as her daughter usually did as she was told._

 _"No! You said it yourself Mama. We protect our precious people and we stay by their sides during hard times. I'm not leaving you guys, and don't blame Kakashi. I made him bring me!"_

 _Kakashi spluttered and Kushina smiled slightly. Power and authority wise, Naruto couldn't make really anyone do anything, but her daughter had a way of making people do as she says nonetheless._

 _"Alright. But when your father gets here with the Kyuubi to deal it, you two need to make sure you stay out of the way. You're not fuuinjustu experts and would probably do more harm than good if you try helping." Kushina said, relenting somewhat to her daughters desires, "Do you want to meet Menma now?"_

 _As the two youngest approached the alter with the sleeping baby on it, the first thing Kakashi noticed was the vibrant red hair that matched his mothers to a T. The second thing he noticed was the presence of three whisker-like marks on the baby's face, "Uh, Kushina-San? What are those marks on his cheeks? Is he alright?"_

 _Kushina waved her hand in a 'who cares?' Gesture before replying, "I have no clue. But they are kind of cute aren't they -ttebane?"_

 _Naruto however looked oddly at her otouto, as if contemplating something very deeply. Kakashi chuckled, "Hey Naru-hime, what are you thinking about over there?"_

 _Naruto took a moment to reply, her thoughtful gaze drifting towards her mother then back down to the bundle, "Hey mama, do you think he'll have your verbal tick too?"_

 _Kakashi guffawed a few times before letting a belly laugh out. He knew he shouldn't, but he just couldn't help it. Five year old Naruto was just too entertaining when she decided to voice her thoughts._

 _It was Kushinas turn to sputter at what Naruto said, "Kami I hope not! I hate this stupid thing-ttebane!"_

 _And then yet another blonde joined the mix in the form of Minato. And he was pissed, "What do you two think you're doing here! You need to leave before—!"_

 _There was a deafening roar that seemed to vibrate the very bones of the fields occupants. Baby Menma began crying, his wails attempting to rival that of the being who's goals were to tear their family asunder._

 _Minato wasted no time in beginning the seals which he prepared for his son and wife. Luckily the man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara hadn't fully succeeded in releasing the Kyuubi. He had only managed to release the yang half of the beasts chakra before being forced to flee from Minato. That meant that Kushina would at least live, if only much weaker than before._

 _Naturally Minato's attention couldn't be wholly on the Kyuubi as he drew the seals on his sons stomach. So little did he realize that Kyuubi had recovered from his blow faster than anticipated and began to run towards their location._

 _The other occupants of the field were terrified. Naruto, however, could feel something welling up within her. A feeling of heated anger and desperation surfacing in her mind. She wanted to protect her family. She needed to stop that monster from hurting them! She knew that she wasn't powerful or skilled like her parents or Kakashi, but she refused to just watch her precious people die!_

 _Kushina noticed it first as she was preparing to use her chains to hold down the Kyuubi. Her daughter had always had large chakra reserves. Uzumaki large. Of course, Naruto **was** her daughter, so it made sense. But at the moment her usually calm chakra was spiking, as if it was rioting beneath her skin, to the point where even Kushina could feel it. _

_Kushina knew what was going to happen next. That didn't stop her amazement though. Kushina has always wanted her daughter to have her bloodline limit. The Uzumaki Chakra Chains were not only beautiful, but extremely deadly._

 _Kakashi watched in horrified fascination as Naruto released her Chains for the first time with a gut wrenching scream. He watched as Naruto glared down at the Kyuubi, her chains plunging into the ground, alongside her mothers, he noticed passively, and the chains looked as if they were just flowing easily out of her. Unlike her mothers gold chains, Naruto's were a light shade of blue, which confused him somewhat. It wasn't like he had seen chains other than Kushina's, but he didn't expect that they'd be a different color than her mothers._

 _Kushina was also surprised by this, but let it go quickly as she noticed both hers and Naruto's chains wrap around Kyuubi, Naruto's chains wrapping around each leg to hold them in place and control them, while Kushina's wrapped around its torso and muzzle to keep him secured and preventing him from struggling too much. It also helped that wrapping its muzzle prevented any more beast bombs from flying._

 _Minato finally finished the seal on his sons stomach, and only finally noticed what was going on with his daughter. He saw that her chakra chains were different from Kushina's in color, but they all sprouted from the same places. Both females wore concentrated looks, and he could feel his pride as a father soar. He hoped that they would all live after this was over._

 _"Kakashi!" Minato called to his student, who turned wide eyed to look at his Sensei, "You're to protect those two until the sealing is done. Do you understand?"_

 _"Yes Sensei!" Kakashi yelled back. At least now he had a mission. A task to accomplish. And he would make sure to do so with his life._

 _"The Eight Trigrams Seal is set!" Minato called out to his wife._

 _The Kyuubi heard this, and enraged by the thought of being sealed once more, managed to break free of Kushina and Naruto's chains, causing the two to cry out in pain and alarm._

 _Three things all seemed to happen at once for Kakashi, who had tried to jump in the way of the incoming set of claws._

 _The first was another body smacking into his so hard it jarred his bones and sent him flying._

 _The second was hitting two other bodies, ending his flight mid air, and taking all three of them to the ground._

 _The last, and by far the worst, was the sickening sound of flesh being pierced._

 _Naruto was the first to realize what had happened._

 _" **PAPA!** " She tried her best to wiggle out from between Kakashi and her mother. _

_Tears were streaming down her face, her body hurt, her **heart** hurt. She didn't want to believe that she was truly seeing her beloved father impaled on a giant claw, blood dripping from his mouth and the large wound, eyes half lidded as if weighing too heavy to keep open. She wanted to puke. She wanted to keep screaming. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare and go into the kitchen to see her father cooking breakfast in his goofy, frilly apron that her mother always teased him about. _

_"Get off of me! **Get off! PAPA!** " She just kept screaming. _

_Kushina was the next to notice. She heard her daughters screams, could feel them reverberate inside her heart. When she looked to see why, she gaped, wide-eyed, at her husband. Her **dying** husband. The father of her children. The love of her life. _

_Her heart utterly shattered the moment she laid eyes on what he had done to protect them. To protect Menma. She reached out, shoving Kakashi off of her, though he had also realized what had happened by this point, and had grabbed up Naruto, keeping both of them in place, staring at the paralyzing sight. Kushina took off, leaving her daughter with Kakashi._

 _"Minato!" She ran forward, even as exhausted as she was. Minato held out his hand and she haulted._

 _"Kushina... I'm just going to say—" he coughed, blood splattering from his mouth, a drop or two landing on Menma's whiskered cheeks, "I'm just going to say a few... last words. To Menma, okay?"_

 _Kushina cried out, her face wetting with tears, "O-okay, Minato-kun. Just know.. know that we all—!" A sob wracked her entire form as she fell to her knees in front of her newborn and husband, " **We LOVE YOU MINATO-KUN!** " _

_Kakashi had no words. The only things he felt were agony and despair. He pulled Naruto tighter to himself. She was the anchor. The lifeline. What tied them all together and kept them that way. But he **despaired**. He was watching his Sensei die in front of him, the only thing keeping him from losing the last of his sanity was the little girl that had gone limp in his arms, resignation to her pain seeming to permeate her soul. _

_The only thing he could do was hold her tighter. He may be losing his Sensei, but she was losing her father right in front of her. And Kami knows that he can relate to that._

 _Minato could do nothing but look at his family. His daughter and student, only about 15 feet away, both looking as if their entire worlds were crumbling to dust beneath their feet. His wife, who's body shook with the force of her choked sobs. Her last words to him were filling his heart with final joy._

 _And then there was his son. Menma. The newborn baby was fast asleep, unaware of the pain and suffering surrounding his birth. Menma was the picture of total naivety and innocence._

 _"Menma... there's so much... I wanted to be there for—" Minato coughed once more, "so many things I wanted to show you. Make sure.. to find a girl to love, who's like your mother." He chuckled painfully and took a rattling breath. He could feel his lungs filling with his own blood, "listen to your Onesan, and your Mom. They're smart... and won't steer you wrong. Protect them, since I... can't. And no— no boys. For Naruto, yeah?"_

 _Minato reached forward, placing his hand on his sons seal, making sure to push an extra bit of his chakra into it, knowing that by doing this, he would one day get to meet his son for real, "Fuuin."_

 _Silence rang out in the field, only to be interrupted by the wails of a newborn._

 _The Kyuubi was sealed once more. But at what cost?_

 _Two more people landed in the clearing, realizing they were too late. Kushina stood up, on shaky legs, and made her way to the sealing alter where her son was crying out his displeasure with the world._

 _"Shh, shh, Menma." Kushina choked out, "y-you're okay. M-mama has you, shh."_

 _Sarutobi Hiruzen steped towards the new widow, unsure of what to think of what he's seeing._

 _Jiraiya, however, rushed past his teacher, stooping down in front of a despondent Kakashi and Naruto._

 _He notices that Kakashi is crying. What worries him more, however, is the dull eyes of his students eldest child._

 _"Ero-oji..." Jiraiya hears the hoarseness of her voice and his heart breaks for her. Just from her voice alone, he knows innately that she witnessed the entire thing. He pulls both of them into a tight hug._

 _"My husband is dead, Jiji. I want the bastard that caused this found. I want his head on a pike! I want him to pay for the fact that my son has to grow up **never knowing his FATHER**!"_

 **Just so all of you know, I'm going to be re-writing the first three chapters. After going back and reading them again, I find that they aren't what I wanted them to be. So some major stuff is going to be getting switched up. For instance: I'm really going to make this worthy of being rated M, if this chapter wasn't obvious enough. Basically the first three chapters will retain most of what they are and what has happened so far, but with some extra tweaking. Also... for my little perverts out there, next chapter will have a Lemon. It's going to be my first though, so no judging! Of course constructive criticism is always welcome, please let me know your thoughts in the review section! Until next time!**

 **Stay happy!**


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